Cross frog for a set of track points, provided with an end of position-retaining device

ABSTRACT

A rail switch frog ( 1 ) includes a movable frog point ( 5 ) slidingly guided within a base frame ( 2 ), which frog point is movable into abutment on the wing rails ( 6, 7 ) and laterally supported in its abutment positions by supporting elements ( 10 ) fixed to the base frame ( 2 ). An end-position securing device ( 12 ) is provided for resiliently pressing the frog point ( 5 ) in its abutment position against the wing rail ( 6, 7 ) and the supporting elements ( 10 ), which end-position securing device is arranged within the space delimited by the base frame ( 2 ) and is connected with the base frame ( 2 ), or the supporting elements ( 10 ), as well as with the frog point ( 5 ).

The invention relates to a rail switch frog including a movable frogpoint slidingly guided within a base frame, which frog point is movableinto abutment on the wing rails and laterally supported in its abutmentpositions by supporting elements fixed to the base frame.

In the case of frogs including movable frog points, the movable frogpoint is held fast on the fixing point, on the one hand, and in theplanes of actuation and locking, on the other hand, and in therespective abutment positions on the wing rails should each get intoabutment on the supporting elements provided for the lateral support ofthe frog point. Yet, due to the bending behavior of the frog point, noprecise abutment on the supporting elements connected with the baseframe is, in fact, ensured, and hence no frog point support that takesinto account the high loads brought about by the high rolling loads isprovided. It would, therefore, be desirable to create a frog in whichthe frog point is sufficiently secured in the abutment positions.

In the context of switch tongue rails that are capable of beingdisplaced into abutment on a stock rail, switching and/or end-positionsecuring devices ensuring the resilient pressing of the tongue rail atthe stock rail have already been known. In those known devices, theswitching force is assisted by an additional force after a predeterminedswitching path. In that case, a force accumulator is initially chargedduring the displacement of switch parts, whereupon the pressing of thetongue rail into an end position is effected upon exceeding of adead-center position under a new force output from the forceaccumulator. The force accumulator is comprised of a pressure spring,said pressure spring being connected, for instance, via angular leverswith the respectively driven part or the actuator, respectively, as can,for instance, be taken from AT 379 624. Such angular levers have to beprecisely hinged in the respective position, thus requiring a number ofhinge points via which the force of the force accumulator issubsequently transmitted to the parts to be reset. A switching and/orend-position securing device of this type is also referred to as aspring rocker. From FR-A-2523537, a switching aid including anintegrated hydraulic drive has already become known, wherein springrockers are formed by two pressure springs which are supported on thehousing of the ground box and enter into effect upon exceeding of therespective dead-center positions. Finally, a switching device for a railswitch including stock rails and tongue rails associated therewith hasbecome known from DE 295 10 718 U1 and WO 00/73120 A1, in which theswitching device is fixable in one of two end positions via at least onespring element. In those known configurations, the tongue foot isembraced by a connecting element which cooperates with a spring rockerarranged on a fixing plate clamped to the stock rail. In addition, alever element may be used as an intermediate element to the connectingrod assembly in order to support, and render checkable, theend-of-travel position.

The present invention aims to provide a frog which enables an enhancedlateral support of the frog point in its abutment positions andappropriate securement of the same in its end position as well as itspressing against the supporting elements so as to ensure safe passage.To this end, the frog according to the invention is essentiallycharacterized in that an end-position securing device is provided forresiliently pressing the frog point in its abutment position against thewing rail and the supporting elements, which end-position securingdevice is arranged within the space delimited by the base frame and isconnected with the base frame, or the supporting elements, as well aswith the frog point.

By providing an end-position securing device resiliently pressing thefrog point in its abutment position against the wing rail and thesupporting elements, the frog point in its abutment position islaterally pressed at the supporting elements fixed to the base frame soas to reach a substantially improved support of the same. Otherwise, nosufficient support would be ensured, since the frog point cannot be heldprecisely in its abutment position over its entire length on account ofits bending behavior and its elastic deformation. Due to the fact thatthe end-position securing device according to the invention is arrangedwithin the space delimited by the base frame and is connected with thebase frame, or the supporting elements, as well as with the frog point,a particularly compact configuration will be obtained, which takes intoaccount to the optimum degree the extremely scarce space conditionsprovided in the region of the frog point. By the arrangement of theend-position securing device according to the invention it is preventedthat the end-position securing device, or parts of the end-positionsecuring device, will project beyond the space delimited by the baseframe such that no parts of the end-position securing device need befixed to a holding part arranged below the rail foot, as is known fromthe prior art in the context of tongue and stock rails. Overall, theoptimum arrangement in the region of the frog point is thus ensured,whereby it is also feasible to retrofit into the frog particularly theend-position securing device, since mounting is effected in a simplemanner on the base frame or on the supporting elements.

In a preferred manner, the end-position securing device is fixed to acarrying part connecting two neighboring supporting elements. By thisconfiguration, the retrofitting of the end-position securing device isfurther facilitated, since the end-position securing device can be fixedto the carrying part already in advance, thus already enabling theprecise positioning of the end-position securing device. After this, thecarrying part, whose extension in the longitudinal direction of the railcorresponds substantially to the distance provided between twoneighboring supporting elements, need only be connected with theseneighboring supporting elements, this being feasible in an advantageousmanner by means of the already existing screw connection of thesupporting elements. On the rail side, the mounting of the end-positionsecuring device can be realized in a preferred manner in that theend-position securing device is connected to a holding part embracingthe rail foot of the long point and the rail foot of the short point.Such a holding part connecting the long point with the short point isalready present in most cases anyway, so that the coupling of theend-position securing device is feasible with a minimum of additionalparts also on the rail side. The holding part embracing the rail foot ofthe long point and the rail foot of the short point in most cases isconnected with the frog point by a pin passing through the rail stem ofthe long point and the short point, respectively, in the region of theircenter-of-gravity planes as already known per se, whereby only therelative longitudinal displaceability of the long point relative to theshort point will have to be borne in mind. In this preferredconfiguration, the introduction of force takes place in the region ofthe center-of-gravity plane of the frog point, and hence in the regionof the neutral axis, i.e., approximately in the center of the rail stem,so that the occurrence of tilting moments will be largely prevented. Inthis context, the configuration in a preferred manner may be furtherdeveloped such that the rail-side hinge point of the end-positionsecuring device is located in the region of the center-of-gravity planeof the frog point. Overall, the entire end-position securing device is,thus, arranged in the region of the center-of-gravity plane of the frogpoint such that all of the effective forces are located in one plane.

In a preferred manner, the end-position securing device is designed as aspring rocker, thus providing a particularly compact mode ofconstruction and enabling the securement of both the right-side and theleft-side end positions of the frog point by means of a single device.

In the following, the invention will be explained in more detail by wayof an exemplary embodiment schematically illustrated in the drawing.Therein, FIG. 1 is the plan view of a rail switch part including amovable frog point and a cast or welded base frame; FIG. 2 is anenlarged detailed view of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 illustrates a section throughFIG. 2 along line III—III; and FIG. 4 is a partial view of a springrocker element.

FIG. 1 depicts a frog 1, whose base frame is denoted by 2. The frogpoint 5, which is comprised of a long point 3 and a short point 4, canfacultatively be displaced or pivoted into abutment on the rigid wingrail 6 or the rigid wing rail 7. The movable frog point 5 is held faston the fixing point 8, on the one hand, and in the plane of actuationand locking 9, on the other hand. Supporting elements 10 fixed to thebase frame 2 are provided to enable the precise positioning of themovable frog point 5 in the respective end positions. Furthermore, aholding part 11 is apparent, which embraces the rail foot of the longpoint and the rail foot of the short point and, at the same time,guarantees the required longitudinal displaceability of the short pointrelative to the long point.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of the frog with an end-position securingdevice 12 arranged in the region of the holding part 11, whichend-position securing device is fastened to a carrying part 13connecting the two neighboring supporting elements 10. From thesectional illustration according to FIG. 3, it is apparent that theend-position securing device 12 is arranged within the space delimitedby the base frame 2. The end-position securing device 12 in this case isdesigned as a spring rocker, comprising two pressure springs 14connected with the carrying part 13 on the frame-side and mounted torotate about a common axis 15 on the rail-side and pivotally hinged tothe holding part 11 via connecting part 16 and hinge part 17. Theholding part 11 is connected with a pin 18 passing through the rail stemof the short point 4 in the region of its center-of-gravity plane. Inthe main, all of the hinge points of the end-position securing device 12are located in the region of the center-of-gravity plane of the frogpoint such that the occurrence of tilting moments will be largelyprevented. FIG. 4 finally illustrates a detailed view of the springrocker, wherein the biasing force of the spring 14 can be adjusted byrotating the stirrup part 19 accordingly.

1. A rail switch frog (1) comprising: a movable frog point (5) slidinglyguided within a cast or welded base frame (2) extending at least overgenerally the length of the frog point (5), said frog point beingmovable into abutment on wing rails (6, 7) mounted on the base frame (2)and laterally supported in its abutment positions by supporting elements(10) fixed to said base frame (2), and an end-position securing device(12) for resiliently pressing the frog point (5) in its abutmentposition against the wing rail (6, 7) and the supporting elements (10),wherein the end-position securing device is arranged within a spacedelimited by said base frame (2), and is attached to said base frame(2), or the supporting elements (10), as well as to the frog point (5).2. A frog according to claim 1, wherein the end-position securing device(12) is fixed to a carrying part connecting two neighboring supportingelements (10).
 3. A frog according to claim 2, wherein a rail-side hingepoint of the end-position securing device (12) is located in a region ofa center-of-gravity plane of the frog point (5).
 4. A frog according toclaim 3, wherein the end-position securing device (12) is a springrocker.
 5. A frog according to claim 2, wherein the end-positionsecuring device (12) on a rail side is connected to a holding part (11)embracing a rail foot of a long point (3) and a rail foot of a shortpoint (4).
 6. A frog according to claim 5, wherein the end-positionsecuring device (12) is a spring rocker.
 7. A frog according to claim 5,wherein a rail-side hinge point of the end-position securing device (12)is located in a region of a center-of-gravity plane of the frog point(5).
 8. A frog according to claim 7, wherein the end-position securingdevice (12) is a spring rocker.
 9. A frog according to claim 2, whereinthe end-position securing device (12) is a spring rocker.
 10. A frogaccording to claim 1, wherein the end-position securing device (12) on arail side is connected to a holding part (11) embracing a rail foot of along point (3) and a rail foot of a short point (4).
 11. A frogaccording to claim 10, wherein a rail-side hinge point of theend-position securing device (12) is located in a region of acenter-of-gravity plane of the frog point (5).
 12. A frog according toclaim 11, wherein the end-position securing device (12) is a springrocker.
 13. A frog according to claim 10, wherein the end-positionsecuring device (12) is a spring rocker.
 14. A frog according to claim1, wherein a rail-side hinge point of the end-position securing device(12) is located in a region of a center-of-gravity plane of the frogpoint (5).
 15. A frog according to claim 14, wherein the end-positionsecuring device (12) is a spring rocker.
 16. A frog according to claim1, wherein the end-position securing device (12) is a spring rocker. 17.A frog according to claim 16, wherein the end-position securing device(12) is a spring rocker.
 18. A rail switch frog (1) comprising: amovable frog point (5) slidingly guided within a base frame (2), saidfrog point being movable into abutment on wing rails (6, 7) andlaterally supported in its abutment positions by supporting elements(10) fixed to the base frame (2), and an end-position securing device(12) for resiliently pressing the frog point (5) in its abutmentposition against the wing rail (6, 7) and the supporting elements (10),wherein the end-position securing device is arranged within a spacedelimited by the base frame (2), and is connected with the base frame(2), or the supporting elements (10), as well as with the frog point(5), wherein the end-position securing device (12) on a rail side isconnected to a holding part (11) embracing a rail foot of a long point(3) and a rail foot of a short point (4), and wherein the holding part(11) embracing the rail foot of the long point (3) and the rail foot ofthe short point (4) is connected with the frog point (5) by a pin (18)passing through a rail stem of the long point and the short point (3,4), respectively, in a region of center-of-gravity planes of the longpoint and the short point (3, 4).
 19. A frog according to claim 18,wherein a rail-side hinge point of the end-position securing device (12)is located in a region of a center-of-gravity plane of the frog point(5).
 20. A frog according to claim 19, wherein the end-position securingdevice (12) is a spring rocker.
 21. A frog according to claim 18,wherein the end-position securing device (12) is a spring rocker.
 22. Arail switch frog (1) comprising: a movable frog point (5) slidinglyguided within a base frame (2), said frog point being movable intoabutment on wing rails (6, 7) and laterally supported in its abutmentpositions by supporting elements (10) fixed to the base frame (2), andan end-position securing device (12) for resiliently pressing the frogpoint (5) in its abutment position against the wing rail (6, 7) and thesupporting elements (10), wherein the end-position securing device isarranged within a space delimited by the base frame (2), and isconnected with the base frame (2), or the supporting elements (10), aswell as with the frog point (5), wherein the end-position securingdevice (12) is fixed to a carrying part connecting two neighboringsupporting elements (10), wherein the end-position securing device (12)on a rail side is connected to a holding part (11) embracing a rail footof a long point (3) and a rail foot of a short point (4), and whereinthe holding part (11) embracing the rail foot of the long point (3) andthe rail foot of the short point (4) is connected with the frog point(5) by a pin (18) passing through a rail stem of the long point and theshort point (3, 4), respectively, in a region of center-of-gravityplanes of the long point and the short point (3, 4).
 23. A frogaccording to claim 22, wherein the end-position securing device (12) isa spring rocker.
 24. A frog according to claim 22, wherein a rail-sidehinge point of the end-position securing device (12) is located in aregion of a center-of-gravity plane of the frog point (5).
 25. A frogaccording to claim 24, wherein the end-position securing device (12) isa spring rocker.